


Call You Mine

by lovingreylo (PeaceBlessingsPeyton)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Ben Solo, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Both think the other hates them, Devoted Reylo, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Mechanic Rey, Omega Rey (Star Wars), Smut, Sort of friends to lovers, ben is smitten, rey is smitten, surgeon ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-12 12:43:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19946368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeaceBlessingsPeyton/pseuds/lovingreylo
Summary: "The first day he saw her was like an out of body experience. He always felt completely silly when he thought back on it, how he had literally felt time slow or how the world that day seemed to have an extra sparkle to it.Ben sighed again before getting out of the car and heading up the walkway to his parent's house thinking about the day Rey Johnson had come into his life three months ago. How the alpha in him was immediately alarmed at how pale and malnourished she looked, how he just wanted to take care of her, how her smile and the way she laughed at his stupid jokes made his heart want to break out of his chest and offer itself to her."Even though he’s never been in love before, Ben Solo could easily tell you that he’s falling in love with Rey, the girl his parents had taken in off the street. There’s one small problem though, his father tells him that he isn’t good enough for her and to stay away. It works… for a short while anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Everyone! This is my first Reylo fic so please be gentle with me! 😊

Ben pulled up in front of his parent's house and sighed, resting his forehead on his steering wheel for a moment. 

He was so freaking tired. 

The week had been absolute hell and it was only Wednesday. If it were up to him, he’d be asleep right now as it was his only morning off for the next eight days but instead, he was here at his dad’s garage to get his oil changed. 

It was probably something that easily could’ve waited until he was off from the hospital again but he liked that he could see both of his parents and his Uncle Luke all in one shot. They lived on George Lucas Avenue. On one side of the street sat three buildings, an auto shop, a yoga studio and a bar and on the other side sat a row of houses- all owned by the Solo-Skywalker-Organa family. 

His father Han Solo managed the auto shop, his uncle Luke Skywalker managed the yoga studio and his mother, Leia Organa Solo managed the bar. It was always daunting to him how they managed to take over the real estate on the whole damn street but it had been that way since he could remember. In fact, he had been bred for it, bred to take over the family business that he wanted nothing to do with. 

When he was younger, his parents tried to get him into little things, like running the cash register, fixing cars, serving tables. It was fun at first, and truthfully he had taken an extreme amount of pride in helping with the family business. But when he wasn’t helping there, he was focusing on his passion- health sciences. Ben wanted to become a doctor and help people. 

His father had been furious. Refusing to let Ben touch a penny of his college savings even after he got into Harvard, John Hopkins and Stanford University and had no hope to pay for school by himself. 

Defeated, he went to his grandmother, Padme who he had always been close with and asked her for help. Even though she admitted she’d love to see her only grandchild follow her family’s footsteps, she was over the moon that he had found his passion. 

To add insult to injury, when all of this was happening Ben presented as an alpha. His father, being a beta himself, despised alphas. His mother was also a beta, but his Uncle Luke was an alpha like him. 

_ “Sorry Han,” Luke had said that one September morning, “It looks like the Skywalker genes beat the Solos, all Skywalker men have presented as alphas since the beginning of time.”  _

That much was true, his grandfather Anakin Skywalker had been alpha, as was his father and his father before him. Anakin raised Luke to be a proud man, and he was, commanding everyone’s attention the second he walked into a room. But there were other things about him, the not so alpha things like his kindness and gentle demeanor that made Ben like him so much. He never once raised his voice at Ben, no matter how badly he fucked up. 

Luke tried to teach Ben everything he knew about being an alpha as well as being a man but despite his uncle’s best efforts, being an alpha and all that came with it always left a bad taste in his mouth. 

His mother eventually came around to the idea of him going to medical school, but things between him and his father had never been the same. If he were being honest (which his therapist encouraged him to do a lot these days), he never fully recovered from the loss of his parent's support and was still constantly fighting that feeling that he was never going to be good enough.

Despite that though, he and his parents were on civil terms for the most part. Well… up until recently.

Until  _ her.  _

Rey Johnson. 

The first day he saw her was like an out of body experience. He always felt completely silly when he thought back on it, how he had literally felt time slow or how the world that day seemed to have an extra sparkle to it. 

Ben sighed again before getting out of the car and heading up the walkway to his parent's house thinking about the day Rey Johnson had come into his life three months ago. How the alpha in him was immediately alarmed at how pale and malnourished she looked, how he just wanted to take care of her, how her smile and the way she laughed at his stupid jokes made his heart want to break out of his chest and offer itself to her. 

That was until his father had something to say about it. He’ll never forget the look of pure disgust on his father’s face when he caught on that Ben was falling for the girl just moments after meeting her. 

_ “You stay away from her,” Han snapped, “you’re not good enough for her and never will be.” _

His father’s hatred towards him for things he had chosen and hadn’t chosen in his life always left irreparable damage on his already weak heart. 

After a while, his heartbreak over Rey turned to resentment and he actually started to hate her. What was so special about this girl, that his own father wanted him to stay as far away as possible from her? Gone was the flirtatious smooth talker whenever he found himself in a room with her, he was only ever callous and mean. 

He sighed again before entering the side door of his parent's house and cursed. He didn’t want to hate her, but goddam when he walked into the kitchen to see her sitting with  _ his _ dad and _ his _ uncle like they were her dad and her uncle it just made his blood boil. So he did what Ben Solo does best and was a complete and utter asshole. 

“Dad, you’re letting the help in the kitchen now?” He said, eyebrows raised in distaste as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 

He heard Rey gasp behind him and then a beat later as he was adding the sugar and cream to his mug, her chair scraped across the floor. 

“Spoiled brat,” she muttered, as she walked past him and out into the garage. 

He turned around to find his father glaring at him, his face turning an unhealthy shade of red. While his uncle just looked at him in amusement with his arms crossed. 

“What?” Ben asked innocently.

“Nothing, I just don’t know when I raised such an asshole, or is that just the alpha in you?” His father said before standing up and leaving the kitchen. 

Ben internally winced, the alpha comments his father made always stung a little more than the others. 

“Yeah, well, I learned the asshole part from you,” he said, his voice carrying a sing-song tone to layer over his sarcasm. 

Luke just shook his head, smirking at him. “You know, if you’re so jealous of Rey there’s a simple fix for that.” 

Ben scoffed. “I’m not jealous of her!” 

“Mhm,” Luke tutted, “and the sun doesn’t rise in the east and set in the west every morning.” 

Ben rolled his eyes as he watched his uncle leave the kitchen for his yoga studio. 

He sighed, setting his coffee down back on the counter. 

_ Jealous of Rey, what a ridiculous idea. _ He thought to himself.

He wasn’t jealous of her he just thought it was insane that his parents took her in like a stray off the street. Let her move into the apartment above the garage, let her work at the family-owned shop and bar on the corner, let her into their lives like they’d known her forever. 

It was insane that his father forbid him to pursue the only girl he had ever felt anything for. He knew he was a grown man, knew that his father wasn’t the boss of him and hadn’t been for years. But his relationship with his father was already teetering from the list of things his dad already didn’t like about him and he didn’t want to add to it. 

He decided to go into the shop to see who was going to give his car an oil change. 

When Rey heard Ben come into the shop, she took a deep steadying breath. She really didn’t have the energy to spar with him today so she set to work on getting his oil changed for his car. That was the whole reason why he was here today of course because he needed something. The sooner she got the job done the sooner he would be out of here.

_ Go easy on him, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know your past and everything you’ve been through in the last year. _

“You're doing my oil change?” he asked, as he walked over to her. 

She looked around the garage. “Do you see anyone else who’s going to do it? Or are you finally going to get your hands dirty?” 

_ So much for keeping calm _ , she thought to herself.

He glared at her. “What is your problem?” 

Her jaw dropped. “Are you actually serious right now? What did you think I’d find that little joke about me being  _ the help _ funny earlier because if so you need to work on your comedic skills.” 

“I wasn’t trying to be funny, I was stating the truth.” 

“Jesus Ben I am not the help! I work here for your father!” She gritted out. 

“Tomato, tomoto,” he said, shrugging at her. 

Rey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Can you just go over to the bar to see your mother or something and get some lunch while I take care of this?” 

“No, I want my dad to do it, not you,” he said petulantly. 

“No Ben he’s-” she hesitated, not wanting to say too much- “he’s busy today. Just let me do it.” 

He glared at her again for a long moment like he was trying to figure out what she was hiding. “Fine, but if you fuck it up you’re paying for it.” 

She sighed, putting her hands up in defeat. “Fine, give me your phone?” 

“What? No, why?” 

Not bothering to answer his question, Rey reached over and tugged his phone out of his pocket and opened to his contacts. 

“Hey! What are you doing?” he demanded. 

She rolled her eyes, while she continued her task. “I’m putting my phone number in here so I can text you when your car is ready.” 

She texted herself and then returned the phone to him. He was still glaring at her when she handed the phone back. Ben snatched his phone out of her hand, turned on his heel and walked out of the garage muttering something that sounded like “pain in the ass” on the way out. 

Rey exhaled, sagging against Ben’s car as she steadied her breathing. 

The last twelve months of her life had been absolute hell. She had been in the second to last semester when she met her ex-boyfriend, an alpha that she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. But her fairytale romance quickly turned into the worst nightmare of her life in the blink of an eye. 

Her whole life had been a nightmare, but the last year of her life was definitely the icing on the cake and not in a good way. 

Rey was born in a small middle-of-nowhere town called Jakku and was abandoned by her parents when she was five years old. From then on she was bounced from foster home to foster home until she was put under the care of Unkar Plutt at the age of thirteen. Although Unkar never laid a hand on her, he enforced his fear in other ways. Like not feeding her or forcing her to spend a night out in the junkyard chained up with the dogs. He used her as a scavenger and later on as a mechanic. Luckily, Rey realized at an early age that the only thing that was going to get her out of her situation was her education. So despite being bounced around as a kid and working for Unkar, she always made sure she kept her studies up. 

As if her life could get any worse four things happened at once: 1- Rey turned eighteen 2- Rey got a full scholarship to an engineering program on the other side of the country 3- Rey presented as an omega 4- Rey ran away from home. 

She had done well in college and was set to graduate at the top of her class with honors and multiple job offers from prestigious engineering firms. 

And then he happened. 

Rey shudders just think about her ex  _ alpha _ boyfriend, not even wanting to think his name. 

Squatting down on her mechanic’s creeper, she shook the dark memories from her mind as she pulled herself under the car. She took a deep breath, letting the smell of grease and motor oil fill her nostrils as she attempted to center herself. Although being a mechanic was she always found herself being good at, it was never something she saw as a lifelong career. But it paid the bills and she was extremely grateful for Ben’s parents- Leia and Han agreed to keep her on full time and live above the shop. 

Speaking of Han, it wasn’t long before she heard his worn work boots enter the shop and walk towards her. 

“Hey kid, I was going to do that,” he said gruffly. 

She pulled herself out from under the car, taking his hand as he pulled her up off the creeper. “No biggie I had some time this morning.” 

“Listen,” Han said, scratching the back of his neck, “I’m sorry about Ben-” 

“Han, don’t, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for Ben’s behavior.” 

“No kid, listen to me, maybe if I just told him about your situation instead of telling him to-” 

“The only thing worse than Ben hating me would be for him to pity me.” She said fiercely, cutting him off, “I can handle it, don’t worry about me.” 

The truth was, the first day she met Ben she felt her world turn upside down. She couldn’t get over how tall and attractive he was, let alone his breathtaking smile and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that Ben was an alpha, if it wasn’t how he was built like a brick house it was in how he carried himself. What shocked her was that this fact that he was alpha didn’t scare her at all. In fact, she never felt safer. 

_ This alpha would be kind to you _ . Her animal brain whispered. 

He flirted with her a little, making her laugh and smile and she thought for a moment that he was going to ask her out. But Han had come into the garage and asked Ben to join him in the kitchen, effectively bringing their moment to an end. The next time she saw Ben she felt her heart start to race and she greeted him with a smile, hopeful that this time they wouldn’t get interrupted and he would ask her out. She didn’t think she was ready to date but there was something about him that made her feel safe. However, her hopes were quickly crushed when he gave her the cold shoulder and completely ignored her existence. 

The old man sighed, looking more tired than ever. “Okay, if you say so. Do you need help with any of this?” 

“No, I got it,” she said, giving him a smile, “why don’t you sit down and relax. Tell me one of those old-time stories of yours.” 

She loved when Han shared stories about his life with her. It was the only cherished, father-daughter time she knew she would ever get with anyone. And part of her believed that Han knew that. He returned her smile, before taking a seat on a stool nearby. 

“It was 1944, and I had just landed in…” 

*** 

Even though he knew it wouldn’t help, Ben went out and got drunk that night. He knew when he started that he’d regret the decision in the morning, especially when he had to be at work the next day but after his second or third drink, he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

As soon as he got to the bar, his mother asked him to turn around and get something from the shop. He had begrudging went despite the fact that he’d have to see Rey again. Now that he had had some time to calm down he knew she was right that he had crossed the line with his comment. The other thing that was bothering him is that Rey seemed to know something about his dad that he didn’t. When he stepped into the garage he could hear voices and realized after a moment that it was Rey and his dad talking. 

_ The only thing worse than Ben hating me would be for him to pity me. _

He felt his heart constrict when he heard the  _ hate _ . Sure, he hated his job, he hated the people he spent time with, he hated his relationship with his father, hell he even hated himself but he could never hate Rey. 

He dragged his hand over his face before taking another sip of his drink. 

Life was complicated. 

When he stumbled through his front door about an hour later, he practically fell on the couch as he felt the room spin. He heard his phone fall on the floor and groaned as he reached for it. His lock screen opened to his text messages, seeing Rey’s message from earlier that his car was ready. 

Without a second thought, he clicked on her name and hit ‘dial’. 

She picked up on the second ring. “Ben?” 

“H-hey Rey,” he said, slurring his words before chuckling to himself that he had made a rhyme. 

“Ben? Are you all right? It’s the middle of the night.” 

He looked at the time on his phone, it was 2:34 am. 

“Shit,” he groaned, “ugh, work is going to suck tomorrow.” 

He heard Rey gasp on the other line. “Are you drunk dialing me, Ben?” 

“I might be,” He smirked even though she couldn’t see it.

Rey was silent. 

“Is it bad?” he slurred. 

“Is what bad?” 

“Me calling you!” 

“Jesus, no it’s not bad that you’re calling me. I just want to know why.” 

“Because I needed you to know before I went to sleep tonight that I don’t hate you!” He yelled, pouting like a toddler.

“You don’t?” 

“No, the last thing I could do is hate you, Rey,” he admitted softly, feeling his eyes getting heavy with sleep.

“Then why are you so mean to me?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper. 

He yawned. “My dad told me to stay away from you.” 

“He what?” she asked, incredulous. 

He started to chuckle before yawning again. “Oh come on Rey, you’re so smart and beautiful. You have to know by now that my dad thinks I’m a piece of shit.” 

“That’s not true!” She said fiercely.

“Then why would he demand that I stay away from you?” 

There was another pause on the other end of the line. 

“It’s okay Rey,” He hiccuped. “You can hate me but I just wanted to let you know that I don’t hate you.” 

“Ben, no, I don’t-”

“Goodnight Rey,” he said cutting her off. 

He managed to end the call before flopping over on his couch and mercifully falling asleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those of you who have left comments, kudos and sent support on Discord about this fic! It means the world to me! 🌎😊💕

“What do you mean Ben drunk dialed you?” Finn asked before shoving another piece of french toast into his mouth. 

It had been about two weeks since the odd phone call from Ben that night and this was the first time she was able to tell anyone about it. 

“He was drunk and he called me,” Rey said shrugging, wondering why Finn wasn’t getting what she was saying. 

He rolled his eyes. “Yes I know that, what did he say?” 

“He said that he needed me to know before he went to bed that night that he didn’t hate me.” 

Finn’s eyebrows raised as he sat back in his chair. “Really? But isn’t he kind of an asshole to you?” 

“Not kind of, he is an asshole to me.” 

“Did he say anything else?” 

Rey hesitated. She knew she could share anything with her best friend but for some reason, her conversation with Ben had seemed intimate and therefore she felt guilty sharing the details with anyone else. 

“No, not really,” she finally answered, “he just said goodnight and hung up.” 

“Weird,” Finn mused, “Have you heard from him since?” 

Rey shook her head. “No, and I haven’t seen him either.” 

A small part of her had to admit that she wanted to hear from Ben again. She had more questions about what he had said and she was relieved to know that he didn’t actually hate her. 

Finn shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t remember calling you.” 

“It’s possible,” she agreed. 

“So, how have things been going otherwise?” 

Rey felt her body fold in on itself, she did this when she was feeling defensive. By “things” she knew Finn meant her recovery, by “things” she knew Finn was asking if she’d run into her ex recently, by “things” she knew he meant nothing outside of that incident itself. 

“Fine,” she said, “I have an appointment with my OBGYN today after our brunch date.” 

“And you haven’t run into you-know-who for over a month now right?” 

“Yup,” Rey said, taking a sip of her coffee. 

Did he always have to ask about these things while they were eating? It always turned her stomach up in knots. Finn nodded in approval, the conversation dying between them as he continued to finish his meal. 

About an hour later, Rey was on her way to her appointment. 

Despite her experience with her ex, Rey considered herself extremely lucky when it came to her designation no matter how much she hated it. When she got to college she was able to get on suppressants right away, only having to experience a heat three to four times a year. She usually went through her heats alone, which she knew was extremely dangerous but in her mind, it wasn’t as dangerous at being at the will of someone she didn’t completely trust. 

The purpose of her appointment today was for her annual exam and to get her monthly suppressant shot. She somehow struck the jackpot with her doctor Maz Kanata, who not only an amazing doctor but an omega rights activist. Her kindness and gentle demeanor made Rey open up to her immediately, sharing everything about her history and what she wanted as far as her designation went. Dr. Kanata was always supportive and if she ever gave advice that went against what Rey wanted, she knew it was coming from a genuine and more experienced place. 

Dr. Kanata’s office was located near the hospital and was in a building where there were a lot of other medical offices belonging to doctors with all different kinds of specialties. She got on the elevator, looking at the notes on her phone making sure she had all of her questions for her doctor in order. When she got off the elevator, a distinct scent of cloves filled her nostrils. She didn’t think much of it until she came face to face with _him_. 

“Artimage,” she gasped. 

The scent of bergamot and cinnamon used to smell warm and comforting to her, now it just left a pungent taste in her mouth. 

“Rey,” he gritted out. 

It was then Rey noticed a petite redheaded omega, carefully tucked into her exboyfriend’s side. She felt her eyes almost bulged out of her head when she saw one of the girl's hands laid across her swollen stomach. 

“Oh my god,” 

***

Ben didn’t work out of his office very often but since he only had consultations today, he decided it made more sense to meet his clients in a more patient-friendly environment. 

He had about two hours in between appointments so he decided to go grab some lunch from the cafeteria on the top floor of the building. He sighed as he got up from his chair, absent-mindedly checking his e-mails one more time before exiting. It had been about two weeks since the night he got drunk and called Rey in the middle of the night. He had no knowledge of what they talked about just that he called her and he hadn’t heard from her since. 

Making his way to the elevator, the smell of lavender and lemon filled his nostrils. He had smelled this scent before and it was getting stronger the closer he got to the elevator lobby. He took a deep breath in again and smelled panic starting to mix with the scent. When he turned the corner, his jaw nearly dropped when he saw Rey standing in front of a red-headed alpha with his mate. Ben breathed in again, the lavender and lemon scent definitely belonged to her. 

His primal instincts stirred in his chest. _Your omega is afraid, protect her!_

_She’s not my omega!_ He growled internally. 

Wait a second, had Rey always been an omega? 

It was clear from her body language and the scent of panic laced with her scent that Rey did not like the man standing in front of her and he couldn’t just walk away from her. He thought quickly. 

“Babe! There you are,” he said, walking up behind Rey and wrapping an arm around her. 

At first, she flinched at his touch but once they made eye contact, he felt her body sag in relief as she leaned into him. He began massaging one of the glands that was located over her shoulder blade and was immediately relieved when her scent started to return to normal. 

“You must’ve taken a left out of the elevator instead of a right.” She said, looking up at him again. 

He chuckled. “Force of habit,” He looked to the red-headed alpha in front of him and the back at Rey waiting for her to make the next move.

She gasped. “I’m so sorry sweetheart, where are my manners? This is Artimage Hux.” 

Ben unwound his arm from her shoulders and stuck out his hand. “Dr. Benjamin Solo, Rey’s boyfriend.” 

Hux glared at him not saying a word as he took his hand and gave it a hard squeeze. 

Ben’s primal urges kicked in again. _This alpha wants to harm your mate!_

His mind was reeling. _Or had he already hurt her?_ Rage swirled in his gut, he was going to kill this guy. 

_Not my mate, not my mate, not my mate._ He repeated it to himself like a mantra as he gripped his remaining sanity. 

“Ben we should be getting to my appointment,” Rey said as if she could sense how he was feeling.

“Right, let’s get going then,” Ben responded, letting her direct them in the direction of wherever they were going. 

“We have an appointment as well, my mate is expecting,” Hux said smugly. 

Great so they were all going to be stuck in the doctor's office together? Ben wondered if it was going to be one of his colleagues from the hospital. 

When they stopped in front of a door, a few hundred feet down the hallway Ben read the sign on the door. 

_Maz Kanata, OB/GYN, Omega specialist_

Ben didn’t know Dr. Kanata personally, but he knew of her work and he was definitely a fan. He chose a seat in the waiting room as Rey went up to the counter to check-in. 

“Hi I’m Rey Johnson, I have a 12:30 with Dr. Kanata,” he heard her say. 

“Okay, I need your license, copy of your insurance card… is your mate here with you today?” 

Ben winced, did the people in this office just _assume_ that all omegas had mates? 

Rey looked over her should at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. “My mate is here with me today.” 

The nurse handed Rey her cards back and she walked over and sat next to him. Ben already had his arm draped over the back of the chair and he curled it around Rey’s small frame pulling her close. 

He pressed his lips to her forehead. “You’re doing great, just keep going with this ruse and I promise I’ll bring you back to my office later so you can beat the shit out of me.” 

She giggled and shook her head and even though he couldn’t 100% tell if she was acting or not it made him smile. 

The door across the waiting room opened and a nurse in teal scrubs stepped out. “Rey Johnson?” 

***

Rey felt like she was dreaming. If someone had told her when she woke up this morning that not only was she going to run into her ex-boyfriend at her OB/GYN with his new (and very pregnant) mate and that Ben Solo was going to save the day by being her new fake boyfriend she would’ve laughed in their face. Like really laughed, like a crazy person in an insane asylum kind of laugh because she had to admit - this situation was INSANE! 

It was hilarious and horrifying at the same time because not only was Ben pretending to be her mate, he was now heading back to the examination room with her. 

The nurse took her vitals, handed her her gown and left the room. 

“Rey I am so sorry, I saw you in the lobby and I just acted without thinking, I-” 

She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She laughed some more, bending over at the waist as her fit of laughter overtook her body. “This is just insane!” 

A smile spread across his face as his eyes danced with what she would assume was humor and mischief. “Yeah, yeah it really is,” 

Wiping the few stray tears that had fallen from her eyes, she took a deep breath to regain her composure. They stared at each other for a moment and Rey was brought back to the first time she met Ben Solo. The flirtatious confident alpha was the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. 

“I need you to turn around,” she said, feeling a brush creeping its way on to her cheek. 

“What?” 

“So I can change,” 

“You want me to stay?” he asked incredulously. 

“Well, you kind of have to now! Don’t you think everyone in this office would think it was weird if a mated alpha was sitting out in the hall during his omegas examination?” 

“I don’t care what everyone else thinks Rey, I only care about you. If you’re not comfortable with me being in here, then the rest of the people in this office can fuck off.” He growled. 

Her heart softened. _I don’t hate you, you’re smart and beautiful, I only care about you_

Good lord did they have a lot to talk about after this. Gently, she reached out and took his hand in hers giving it a squeeze as she said, “I trust you,” 

After her appointment, they went up to the cafeteria to get lunch and then took it back to Ben’s office so that they could have some privacy to talk. Once they got there they were silent for a few minutes but it was a comfortable silence, each of them getting a few bites in as they collected their thoughts. 

Ben spoke first. “You don’t have to answer this… but was that redheaded alpha… was he your mate?” 

Suddenly Rey was filled with dread. _Right._ They were going to have to talk about this. 

“He wasn’t my mate,” She pulled her shirt collar down showing her unbitten mating gland. “We did date for a while and let’s just say it wasn’t a healthy relationship.” 

_There,_ she thought, that was an honest but brief answer. 

Ben took a deep breath and sighed. “I gathered that much, that’s how I found you actually... I could smell the panic in your scent.” 

The piece of information surprised her since Ben shouldn’t have been able to smell her at all on her suppressants. “Weird, you shouldn’t have been able to smell me. What do I smell like to you?” 

“Lavender and lemon,” he said without missing a beat. 

“Hmm,” she hummed thoughtfully. 

“What?” 

“You smell like lavender to me too.” She giggled at his frown. “I mean, it’s more of an earthy smell like juniper but there’s lavender in there too.” 

They smiled at each other before taking a few more bites of their food.

“Can I ask you another question?” He asked. 

“Of course,” she answered. 

He swallowed like he didn’t know how to ask what he was about to ask. “What did we talk about on the phone when I called you the other night.” 

Her heart sank a little. She figured he wouldn’t remember what they had spoken about considering the state was in. “You really want to know?” 

His eyes widened. “Oh god was it bad?” 

“No, no, no” she answered quickly, “it wasn’t bad at all.” 

“Oh thank god,” he said, deflating back into his chair, “then yes, I want to know.” 

“You said you didn’t want to go to bed that night without telling me that you didn’t hate me,” she said softly, not being able to meet his eyes as she replayed the conversation back through her mind. “And that Han told you to stay away from me.” 

There was another pause of silence between them, the air in the office growing thick. She lifted her eyes, to see Ben looking down at his lap as his jaw clenched and unclenched. 

“Is it true?” she continued. 

His eyes met her own. “Which part?” 

“Both,” 

“Yes, they’re both true.” He confessed, his voice just above a whisper as he held her gaze. 

“I don’t hate you either,” 

He smirked at her. “Could’ve fooled me.” 

She knew he was trying to be funny and break the tension between them but she wouldn’t have any of that. Reaching across the desk, she took his hand for the second time that day. “The last thing I could do is hate you, Ben,”


End file.
